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Monthly Archives: February 2015

Cocaine possession is illegal anywhere in the US. In Texas, it is at least a state felony and jail time is a given for even having a small amount of the drug in your possession. As discussed on the website of Mark Lassiter, this ranges from a minimum of 3 months all the way up to 99 years imprisonment plus fines, depending on the amount of cocaine.

These severe penalties do not faze people who are already addicted to the drug. They are willing to do anything, risk any consequence to feed their habit. For them, the important question in not how it will affect their future but when they can get their next hit. However, there may be hope in the horizon for the millions of people who have gotten hooked on cocaine.

The biggest hurdle in treating drug addiction is the body’s often violent reaction to its withdrawal. Cocaine users experience some of the longest and strongest physical craving for the drug, which often leads to recidivism.

Scientists believe they have hit on a method to help cocaine addicts kick the habit. In a report submitted to the American Chemical Society journal Molecular Pharmaceutics, the authors described a novel approach to modifying a bacterial protein called flagellin that has been incorporated in vaccines that when tested on mice and showed much better success in dulling the psychotrophic effects of cocaine than previous versions.

Vaccines are typically used to combat infections but can also be modified to activate an immune response to specific substances such as cocaine. This means that if human trials are successful, addicts will no longer experience the same high when taking the drug, which can help their body adjust to its absence much easier and quicker. The implications for application other types of addictions are promising.

However, if you are already facing charges for cocaine possession, it is important that you get competent legal representation to have a chance at trying an effective cure. Retain the services of a competent criminal defense lawyer in your state to get the best possible result in your case.